The implements and tools used by the Indian farmers are primitive, crude and obsolete which impede the development of modern agriculture. New farm machineries not only save time, reduce the cost of production but also increase agricultural production.
These machineries replace the animal and human power and perform various works of agriculture ranging from sloughing, showing and harvesting to the marketing of the produce. There is difference of opinion amongst scholars regarding the mechanisation of Indian agriculture.
In fact small and scattered land holdings, cheap and abundant human labour and poverty amongst farmers go against total mechanization of the Indian agriculture but the possibility of limited mechanisation is not ruled out. In many cases where the use of animal and human power has become costlier, mechanisation is proving to be boon for agriculture. Even small farmers prefer to use these machineries (on hire) to save the time and money.
Studies show that sufficient progress has been made in respect of farm mechanisation in India. For example, the number of tractors which was less than 10,000 in 1950-51 rose to 1 lakh in 1970-71 and 14.5 lakhs in 1990-91. Similarly the number of diesel pump sets increased from 80,000 in 1950-51 to 48.5 iakhs in 1990-91 and electrical irrigation pump sets from 26,000 in 1950-51 to 91 lakhs in 1990-91.
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In 1999-2000 the total sale of tractors was 2,73,182 of which Uttar Pradesh attracted the largest percentage (25.50), followed by Madhya Pradesh (10.55), Punjab (10.13), Rajasthan (9.76), and Haryana (7.72). Similarly 16,837 power tillers were sold during 1999-2000 of which largest number went to West Bengal (5270), followed by Tamil Nadu (2644), Karnataka (1649), Kerala (1536) and Assam (1506).
But most of the mechanisation has largely been confined to the rich farmers belonging to the developed areas of the country. Hence, the government is advancing subsidies at the rate of 30% (with a maximum of Rs. 30,000) to help small and margin farmers to buy farm machineries. Four farm mockery training and testing institutes have been set op Budni (Madhya Pradesh), Hissar (Harya’ Garladinne (Andhra Pradesh) and BiswnathCha’ (Assam) for the training of personnel’s and testing the farm implements. Since inception, over 50, personnel have been trained and about 1300 chins tested by these institutes.